


The Long Way Home

by MalTease



Series: Game of Blame Series [7]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-26
Updated: 2014-01-26
Packaged: 2018-01-10 03:19:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1154151
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MalTease/pseuds/MalTease
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Inspired by an event that happened in 2010. Peeta is stranded at the airport, while his young family waits for him at home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Long Way Home

**Author's Note:**

> This is inspired by a volcanic eruption that happened in 2010 and which caused chaos in European airports for many days. According to one of the guides during my recent trip in Iceland, it is an eruption that might happen again soon… safe travels :P.
> 
> Joking apart, I hope you enjoy this little drabble! Set in the Game of Blame universe because, apparently, it’s the only universe I can write about lately :).

Two hours. Two hours...and I will be able to board my plane. Meaning that in about fourteen hours I will finally, FINALLY be with my wife and my babies. I stare at the monitor over and over again, trying to make sure that the departure time surrounded by lines of “CANCELLED” really refers to my flight. It’s been cancelled and rescheduled so much in the past week that it’s difficult to hope, to actually believe it.

This trip has been a bust from the start. When my mother’s sister called from Belgium to tell us that our uncle was terminally ill, and that he wanted to see me and my brothers, we thought that it would be just a trip of a few days. Since Naan’s son was graduating high school in this period, Barley and I thought that it made more sense to just go without him, also meaning that the shop could remain manned in our absence. Two days before our departure, Barley’s wife broke her leg in a freak accident at the school she teaches in, and so it became a solo flight for me with Katniss and I both agreeing that Alba and Aidan were far too young to handle a transatlantic flight, and her assuring me that she would be able to cope for the week I was expected to remain in Belgium. 

However, the week dragged on and became two and three since my uncle, a childless bachelor, informed me, in what was to be our last conversation, that his American side of the family stood to inherit a considerable part of his assets. My share, after the estate was distributed amongst all heirs, amounted to something I would have never earned in my lifetime. It is an inheritance that won’t turn us into millionaires of course, but it will definitely help. A lot. 

So with the funeral arrangements, and the opening of the will, as well as the legal and notarial arrangements, I could only book my flight back to the US during my third week in Belgium, and it was then that a goddamn volcano in Iceland, Eyjafjallajökull (what the FUCKI?) erupted, spewing ash in the northern hemisphere, and interrupting all forms of air transportation until further notice. Katniss freaked out when I had told her the news, torn between being gutted at my being stuck in Belgium until further notice, and also terrified at the prospect of any possibly flight I’m in being caught in the ash cloud.

_“Don’t even think about boarding a plane for now, Peeta. I am reading about this shit … the ash is so fine it enters the plane engines and melts them from the inside! You stay there until it’s safe you hear me? Don’t you even dare put your life in such danger, clear?!”_

The thing is that it’s not like I had any actual choice in the matter. Until this morning, it seemed that Katniss’ opinion was pretty much shared by everyone in Northern Europe, and for an extra week, I kept receiving calls from my airline company giving me updates that meant that I was to stay put with my Belgian relatives until the bloody unpronounceable volcano decided to stop belching out plane-destroying ash. 

It was at 10am this morning when I received a call stating that the hemisphere was clearing up, and that indications were such that flights were to be rescheduled as from the late afternoon. And so here I am, at the departure lounge, finally checked in and waiting to go home where I belong. I settle myself down in a cafeteria with an overpriced waffle and a coffee and switch on my laptop. It’s 8am on Saturday at home and I want to see my family. 

Love are you awake? I’m at the airport … skype?

Less than ten seconds later the skype call icon flashes on my screen and I see my wife’s beautiful, albeit slightly grainy, face staring at me from her webcam. She’s still in her sleep clothes, and her hair is slightly messy, and yet she’s the most wonderful vision in my life. 

“Are you really at the airport?” she cries happily, without even bothering to say hello, “show me!”

I angle my laptop a little so that she can see the surroundings and I can hear her let out a sigh of relief. “My flight has now a departure time, I leave at 16.00 local time,” I explain as I move the screen back to show my face.

“It’s called 4pm, you pretentious Belgian wannabe,” she teases as I show her the waffle and take a bite. We share a look of happiness and I miss her so much that my heart aches. She sobers up after a moment though, and her eyes well with unshed tears. “We’ve never been apart for so long, not since -” she begins, before her voice breaks.

Not since that dark period in our marriage … after Gabriel, during our separation. “It won’t ever happen again,” I assure her seriously, “not ever Katniss I pr-”. I’m suddenly interrupted by excited squeals in the background and the vision of two excited pigtails hopping next to my wife.

“Is it Dah-dee? Is it Dah-dee?” cry the pigtails. My son’s wails join in and I see Katniss exhale in frustration. 8.05am. 

“Yes it is baby! Calm down, I’ll get you a chair so that Daddy can see you.” My wife looks at me apologetically. “Love, give me 10 seconds. I need to bring a chair and a very grumpy baby to the desk,” she explains and disappears from view while my daughter keeps hopping and waving at me. At five, she’s still too tiny to reach the desk. 

While Katniss brings her a chair to clamber on, I reach out for the teddy bear I have in my coat pocket and place it in front of the screen beside me. Since she and Aidan were going to sleep in our bed while I was away, she had generously agreed to send Teddy Gabey with me to Europe _so that I do not sleep all ALL alone in a big big beddie!_ In fact, I strongly believe that the tears she shed at the airport were, at least in some part, also due to her separation from her little soft friend, and I can only imagine how she must have missed him. I’m not ashamed to admit that Teddy Gabey did sleep on my pillow at night, and when Katniss used to send me pictures of all of them tucked in our bed, that Bear, with his smell of home and of all my loved ones, did manage to make the distance just a little less painful. 

After a few short moments, Katniss drags a chair to the desk and Alba clambers on it, bouncing on her knees in excitement as she sees me (and her teddy?) on screen. “Dah-dee!!! Where are you? Are you still in Loolope? When are you coming home??”

“Yes, I’m still in Europe baby, but I’m coming home really soon. When you wake up tomorrow I’ll be right there, I promise,” I reply softly.

“But tomorrow is forever away! I hate Loolope Dah-dee!” she scowls as she crosses her arms and blinks her eyes rapidly. Katniss gets back right at that moment with a very pouty Aidan in her arms, but his face lights up when he sees the screen. He starts kicking his little legs happily and I sigh in relief at the sight of his enthusiasm - every time I see him I’m hit by this irrational fear that in these weeks away from him he might have forgotten all about me. I am well aware that this worry is silly - after all Katniss and I skyped everyday while I was away - but still, my heart beats a little slower every time I see the recognition in his little face. 

At the sight of our daughter, Katniss frowns warningly. “Alba, are we having a scowly day today?” she asks sternly. Now that the image has stabilised, I can see just how tired she already seems to be. I flinch internally with the guilt that hits me. I want to go home to her so, so badly.

“You look so tired,” I tell her softly, “I’m sorry.”

She shakes her head and gives me a small smile. “It’s not your fault, and I much prefer knowing that you’re safe there until everything clears up.” She looks down as Aidan chews on her hair earnestly and rolls her eyes. “Having said that, I’m very very happy that you’re coming back,” she adds with a grin.

I grin back and turn my attention to Alba, who has stopped scowling and is trying to pull a key off the keyboard for no seemingly rational reason. “Alba, have you been a good girl? Have you been helping Mommy like a good little helper?”

Alba nods eagerly. “Yes Dah-dee, I was very good,” she confirms seriously.

Katniss raises an eyebrow and looks at her pointedly. “Are you sure?” she asks her.

I try hard to make my face look stern, and force a frown as I look at our daughter. “Yes Alba, are you sure?”

She looks at me, and then at her mother before lowering her eyes. “Not very suuuuuuure,” she finally concedes.

Katniss and I share a grin over her tiny head before we turn serious again. “Why don’t you tell Daddy what you did this morning?”

Alba squirms and looks at me with a forlorn expression. “I borrowed Puffy Penguin from Aidy,” she explains.

“And how did you do that? Tell Daddy.” 

“Aidy was hugging him so I woke him up, Dah-dee.”

“How did you wake him up?” my wife insists.

“He didn’t wake up when I whispered his name in his ear…”

“Sooooo…” I prod.

“I bit his handie, Dah-dee.”

I roll my eyes and let out a groan. No wonder Katniss looks exhausted at 8am. Our son turns into a grumpy ninety-year old whenever his sleep is interrupted in any way. And after being woken up by a bite from his sister … I can only look sheepishly at my wife and once again remind her that I will be coming home soon.

“So yes Daddy, that’s what Alba did this morning,” Katniss continues. “So Aidan cried, and Alba was on Timeout and had to face the wall to think about what she did wrong.”

“So then I cried too and I was in timeout for _forever_!” squeaks our daughter in indignation.

Katniss mouths five minutes and rolls her eyes just as the airport monitor flickers in my peripheral vision. My flight has been delayed. By another four hours.

My change in demeanour must be very visible since Katniss frowns and excuses herself for a second to set Aidan down in his pack n play. She shoos away Alba gently with a kiss and a promise of lots of playtime before settling back in front of the screen. “What is it?” she asks hoarsely. 

“My flight, it now leaves at 9pm, at least I hope it does, I’m not even sure anymore,” I reply, my voice breaking. 

Katniss deflates in front of me. “What? No they can’t keep doing this!” she whispers angrily. 

“It’s starting to feel like I’m never going to make it home,” I reply, wiping away the frustrated tears that are now spilingl down my face. I never thought I’d find myself sobbing in an airport in Europe while skyping with my wife, yet here I am. And the longer I’m stranded here, the less I’m starting to care about the stares that I’m getting for it. 

Katniss shakes her head stubbornly and talks to me in the tone of voice that is usually reserved for when our children are particularly unruly. “No, you ARE going to make it home. You will catch your flight whenever it is considered safe for you to do so. Then you will land, and you will drive home. And you will drive slowly and carefully and you will return to us safely. No rushing or speeding or shortcuts or shit. Am I making myself clear?”

I chuckle in spite of the situation at the one of her voice. “No rushing or speeding or shortcuts or shit. Got it yes,” I nod with a grin.

Her face softens and she reaches out her hand outside the line of vision of the webcam. “I’m touching the screen and pretending to hold your hand,” she explains in a small voice. “Can you do the same please?” she pleads.

I smile at the camera and stroke the corner of the screen where I guess her own fingers are touching. “I’ll make it home by the time you’re awake, I promise,” I say in spite of my worries.

“I won’t be sleeping you silly silly man,” she replies with tearful laugh. “Be safe, Peeta. I love you so much.”

“Me too. I love you and I miss you.” 

I hear Alba scold her brother in the background, with Aidan answering back with an indignant shout. “I think I need to continue bringing up our children now. I need to keep them in one piece until you get here,” she jokes.

“Good luck with that,” I reply with a smirk. “As soon as I’m back I’ll keep them out of your way for a while, deal?”

“Deal. Of course it’s a deal. YES.”

After a few more I love yous, we cut the connection and I make my way to the information desk to confirm my flight details. At the very least, it seems like I have time for at least two episodes of Sherlock. Silver linings and all that shit. 

**********

It is past 4am when I finally enter our apartment. With the light of one of the shades that Katniss has left on, the combined kitchen and living room is bathed in a soft, warm light that immediately calms me down. I’m finally able to relax in spite of the stress of the past days, and after the bumpy flight and the drive home that was definitely not as slow as Katniss seemed to have wanted it to be. I look at the pile of toys stacked neatly in a corner, the drawings stuck to the fridge, and our kids’ blankets folded on the couch, and I know that even though the money from the inheritance will result in a new, bigger house with a yard and a friendly neighbourhood, this tiny place will always be home, the place where our family was formed. Where everything happened. It will be hard to part from it.

Any further thoughts on the subject are interrupted by the muted footsteps of my wife as she jumps into my arms. For a few, deliciously long, minutes my life is made up of her lips and her taste and her warm skin wrapped around me as we lose ourselves into each other while standing in the middle of our living room. 

“Never again, you’re not going anywhere again without us, understood?” she whispers between kisses. “No Europe, no flying, no airports, no nothing without us. Ever. Again.” The final statement is punctuated with deep kisses that leave me unable to reply to her. I’m about to drag her into our bedroom to show her just how much I missed her when I remember that a toddler and a baby are sleeping there. As a dutiful parent, I don’t particularly want to scar them for life. Katniss is obviously on the same wavelength. “They’re both there, sprawled and snoring and taking far too much space that one would think possible,” she explains with a wry smile.

My disappointment, and my need for her, is obviously very evident but, in all honesty, so is my exhaustion. “Fine...I’ll go shower and reach you in bed,” I murmur with a final kiss and a yawn. 

Unless…

I nod in the direction of the bathroom and waggle my eyebrows. She stifles her giggles in my shoulder as I carry her to the shower and proceed to share with her, over and over again, just hope happy I am to be home. 

The sun is slowly rising when we quietly make our way to the bedroom and find our children still asleep. Alba stirrs as I lie down close to her, so I gently place her teddy in her arms. She snuggles close to me and tucks her head under my chin. 

“Dah-dee you’re home,” she whispers sleepily. Aidan yawns and stretches, and opens an eye to lazily look in my direction. He murmurs “dadadadada,” and promptly falls back to sleep. I reach for Katniss’ hand and wrap my arm around my family with a happy sigh. 

“Yes I’m home, sweetie. Now go back to sleep,” I reply softly.

“Will you be here when I wake up?”

“Yes I will be, I promise. Daddy is never going to leave you again, my Little One.”

And in those hours of dawn, wrapped around my family. and perched at the very edge of the mattress, I fall asleep happily.

For all I care, Mount Eyjafjallawhatthefuck and its stupid ashes can calmly, and orderly, proceed to go to hell.


End file.
